Homeschool Mid-year Slump?

     Recently I've come across a few articles on how to overcome mid-year slump in homeschool. It's been only four years since we started homeschooling, so I don't think I have a really 'brilliant' idea on this topic. However, there are a few things I've found helpful for us to keep going without feeling exhausted or bored.
     We do not have a strict schedule. Whether it's an yearly plan, monthly, weekly or daily plan, we do not have the 'set-in-the-stone' kind of plan. I have a big picture of where we're heading for the next few years, where we want to land by certain time of the year or month, but I do not make a so-called 'detailed plan'. To me what's most important is that we school as much as we can on any given day. Very often, we do two chapters on math plus either one science lesson or one spelling lesson. On the days we choose to do Grapevine's stick-figure through the bible study which takes one to one and a half hour, we get to do only one chapter of any of those three subjects.
    We try hard to keep the routine. During twin's morning nap time, Elisha willingly stops whatever she is doing, and joins me for home-school. Both Elisha and I know that's the only time we will be able to sit down for school work. Also, Elisha knows that some homework is waiting for her after shower in the evening. There is a homework folder we keep on the dining table, and she knows she is expected to work on it after taking a shower. There has been no arguing or pouting about this routine and, actually, Elisha shows great diligence and self-discipline in completing her homework.
     Usually, people plan the lessons in such a way that they finish each subject by the end of the school year. However, I've found that there is no need to stretch out when it can be done earlier. We finished All About Reading 3 last month, and we want to finish Nancy Larson Science 2 and All About Spelling 2 by the end of March. Also, I've found that finishing a curriculum early give us the mental 'boost' that helps us keep going. Whenever Elisha finishes a curriculum, we celebrate with a book award by having a special dessert after dinner. (We tried to take her out for lunch, but Elisha does not like eating out!) I really wanted to finish Saxon Math 2 by the end of next month, but, after skimming through the remaining lessons, I realized we won't be able to do 2-3 lessons at a time any more. However, we're going to see if we can finish it by the end of April.

TAPO